AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT AND BUSINESS DIVERSIFICATION BY FARM HOUSEHOLDS

This article examines the nature and incidence of business diversifica tion by farm households in three types of rural economy in England. Af ter defining the concept of business diversification, the preliminary findings of an extensive postal questionnaire survey of more than 1250 farm households are presented. Emphasis is placed on both the differe nces in business diversification between the three areas and the types of farm and farm household involved in this form of agricultural adju stment. Differences in farm size, farm type, occupancy and household c omposition provide indirect explanations of the development of busines s diversification in the three areas, but further intensive methods an d qualitative analyses are required to identify the major processes cr eating spatial variations in business diversification by farm househol ds.